Before?

There were truly too many things Yan Lin had said to her before. Jiang Xuening couldn’t recall which particular sentence it was, so she could only look at him with confusion.

But Yan Lin only smiled and said no more.

Just this delay, and this army that no one had ever seen before had already arrived near. They easily formed a confrontational stance with the Xinzhou Army. If one were to compare military strength, they might not actually be inferior!

Lü Xian’s eyelid twitched as he looked toward Xie Wei.

Xie Wei only watched without making a sound.

However, Shen Lang was overjoyed, no longer maintaining that posture of compromising before Xie Wei. That imperial bearing suddenly returned to him, making him raise his arms and laugh loudly: “I knew it! In the end, this is the blood of my imperial family! They absolutely won’t disappoint my painstaking efforts!”

The entire Xinzhou Army immediately became highly alert as if facing a great enemy.

But Xie Wei didn’t seem surprised.

He stared at Shen Zhiyi, only smiled, and lightly raised his hand to wave it behind him.

Yan Lin glanced at him, then said to the entire army: “Make way for Her Highness the Princess.”

This order was simply baffling.

However, from the border to the capital, fighting all the way, as their commander, Yan Lin had already established sufficient authority. Without needing to explain a single word, although everyone had doubts, they still quickly parted like a receding tide.

The area before the Hall of Supreme Harmony that had originally been surrounded like an iron barrel, thus opened up a path.

Shen Zhiyi looked toward Xie Wei and also saw Jiang Xuening in the corner looking at her with some confusion. At that moment, her steps paused briefly, then she lowered her eyes. Without the slightest trace of fear, she led a contingent of black-armored soldiers and walked through the Xinzhou Army formation like a sharp arrow.

Now that reinforcements had arrived, what did Shen Lang have to fear?

This was all a contingency left behind by the late emperor after he had suffered Prince Pingnan’s rebellion, to prevent such betrayals from happening again!

Using the emperor’s private treasury, they had secretly raised an army at the border between Zhili and Tianjin!

For generations, they only heeded commands from the imperial family. They could not be mobilized without an imperial bloodline bearer holding the military tally!

He felt victory was assured and found this younger sister whom he had always looked down upon to be unprecedentedly pleasing to the eye. So he sneered coldly at Xie Wei: “Did you think I would truly submit without resistance? As soon as I learned of the changes in Xinzhou, I had plans in mind. I had Zhou Yinzhi send half of the military tally to Leyang. Three days ago, I carefully selected from among many court officials and sent Zhang Zhe to deliver the remaining half of the military tally. Zhou Yinzhi is crafty—I promised him great benefits. Zhang Zhe is upright—I appealed to his sense of righteousness. Those two could absolutely keep the secret and accomplish these two matters right under your nose!”

Zhang Zhe was upright and could keep secrets?

Xie Wei agreed with the first half of that statement, but as for the latter half…

He recalled how that Minister of Justice had straightforwardly revealed his purpose that day without any concealment, suddenly laughed, and actually glanced at Jiang Xuening.

Shen Lang knew nothing of this. When his gaze swept over those corpses lying on the ground, a look of humiliation appeared in his eyes, twisting his face.

At this moment, he directly gave the order.

He pointed his blade at Xie Wei and proclaimed loudly: “The Heavenly Teaching and Xinzhou Army have colluded in rebellion. All of you, quickly capture this rebel leader and quell this revolt for me!”

There had originally been quite a few soldiers before the Hall of Supreme Harmony.

When the emperor said reinforcements had arrived, everyone became energized.

Almost as soon as Shen Lang gave the order, they picked up their swords and spears and charged forward!

The Xinzhou Army and Heavenly Teaching side instinctively thought the situation had turned against them and had long been taut like arrows on bowstrings, ready to be released!

Those holding blades and swords were filled with rage.

The archers at the rear shot several thousand carved feather arrows down like rain!

How could that small force at the Hall of Supreme Harmony compare with the Xinzhou Army?

Much less when the opposition held the advantage of archery.

In an instant, a swath fell behind Shen Lang. An expression of disbelief suddenly appeared on his face—

Because when he gave that order, Shen Zhiyi standing on the steps only closed her eyes and remained completely motionless!

Shen Lang was stunned: “Leyang, what are you waiting for?!”

An ominous premonition rose within him.

He flew into a rage, shouting hoarsely and cursing at the black-armored army behind Shen Zhiyi who also hadn’t moved: “You lot—are you all good-for-nothings?! I’m ordering you to suppress the rebellion!”

Those black-armored soldiers’ faces also showed signs of hesitation, but Shen Lang had just killed his own blood relatives and was in such a deranged state—it made one’s scalp tingle.

Their gazes all turned toward Shen Zhiyi.

As long as Shen Zhiyi didn’t give the order, they all endured the cursing, remaining motionless and silent!

Xie Wei observed coldly from the side with great interest.

Shen Lang finally realized something was wrong. He changed his form of address: “Zhiyi, what do you want to do?”

Shen Zhiyi saw the corpses on the ground.

And her elder brother held a blood-stained blade in his hand.

It wasn’t difficult to guess what had just happened here.

Even on the day of her marriage alliance, she had never felt such despair and disappointment: “What have you done?”

Shen Lang said: “It was I who had someone deliver the military tally to you! Imperial blood flows through your veins—you should shoulder your responsibilities! Would you watch this realm fall into outsiders’ hands?”

Shen Zhiyi laughed coldly: “Have I not shouldered them?!”

When she was in the palace, though her temperament was willful, she had always been considered docile.

This sudden retort almost stunned Shen Lang.

His face turned ashen: “What do you mean?”

Shen Zhiyi looked at him with some sorrow: “You’ve harmed loyal subjects, the borders are in turmoil, yet the one who went to the Tatars for the marriage alliance was me! Though imperial blood certainly flows through your veins, and you even sit high on this supreme position, which thing you’ve done is worthy of your status? Master of all under heaven, ruler of ten thousand people—are you even qualified?”

She had changed.

This imperial sister had changed.

Shen Lang finally realized belatedly: perhaps everything he had done before wasn’t enough to bring about his eternal damnation, but this one thing before his eyes might bury everything he had originally planned!

He said: “Do you know what you’re saying?”

Shen Zhiyi shouted loudly: “I know!”

Shen Lang’s eyes turned bloodshot: “Have you forgotten the words I had Zhou Yinzhi and Zhang Zhe bring to you?”

Shen Zhiyi said: “It’s precisely because I haven’t forgotten that I came today!”

Xie Wei, listening from the side for quite a while, suddenly found their imperial family rather interesting.

Shen Jie, however, no longer understood what the two of them were arguing about. The corpses of Empress Dowager Xiao and Xiao Shu had already grown cold.

The arrows from earlier had even fallen beside him.

No one paid him any attention. Only Fang Miao at the edge of the crowd, anxious and taking advantage of the lack of attention, pulled him aside.

Shen Lang looked at Shen Zhiyi without speaking.

Because the situation was almost even worse than the worst case he had imagined!

He had actually handed over the black-armored army for nothing!

But Shen Jie was useless, and he didn’t trust other relatives. That was when he thought of Shen Zhiyi. At that time she was in Xinzhou, and with the popular support from her resolute marriage alliance back then, it naturally seemed that as fellow bearers of Shen blood, Shen Zhiyi should stand on his side.

But he had been wrong.

Shen Zhiyi recalled those words in the letter and the words brought by Minister Zhang from the Ministry of Justice. She felt that her entire previous life had been manipulated by others. For a moment, she had infinite reflections and slowly said: “The words you had people bring were all correct. The strong prey on the weak—if one is meat, one cannot blame others for being the knife and chopping block. So today, I came. However, I didn’t come for you.”

Shen Lang’s jaw clenched tightly.

Shen Zhiyi looked at him and said: “I came for myself.”

When she spoke this sentence, even that last thread of hope Shen Lang had was extinguished.

Desperation drives people mad.

He gripped that blade tightly and actually charged at Shen Zhiyi. However, the Xinzhou Army that had originally been surrounding the area to control the situation almost immediately reacted. No one knew whose foot was quick, but someone actually kicked him to the ground!

In recent years, alchemists had presented so-called “immortality pills,” and he had continuously consumed five-mineral powder. His originally decent body had long been hollowed out by medicines and debauchery. With this kick’s force, his leg bone almost broke. Prostrate on the ground, he simply couldn’t get up.

His face became thoroughly twisted and ferocious.

However, all his fury was directed at Shen Zhiyi: “How dare you? Your surname is Shen, imperial blood flows through your veins—how dare you kick someone when they’re down at this time?!”

Tears rolled from Shen Zhiyi’s eyes. She only asked: “When I went for the marriage alliance, it should naturally be my duty as a princess of this nation—I went willingly. But when you all committed evil first and were incompetent after, when you placed me under house arrest and forced me to go to the borderlands thousands of miles away, to barbarian territories, did you ever think that my surname is also Shen, and imperial blood also flows through my veins?!”

This sentence ultimately revealed several parts of hatred.

Shen Lang’s blade fell to the ground. Though he couldn’t get up, he cursed incessantly. Where was even a trace of his arrogant attitude from moments before?

Xie Wei walked over, picked up that blood-stained blade, and sighed: “It seems no one can save you now.”

Shen Lang shouted sternly: “Shen Zhiyi!”

Shen Zhiyi closed her eyes, as if restraining something. But what she had witnessed over these two years had already made her clearly understand that some people should live, while others only deserve to die.

But Shen Lang was after all her elder brother.

At this moment, she slowly opened her eyes, looked toward Xie Wei, lowered her posture, and requested of him: “I beseech you, Teacher, in consideration of past ties, to leave him a whole corpse.”

Xie Wei gazed at her, actually laughed, and agreed: “Very well.”

However, the next moment, his hand rose and the blade fell!

Blood like a waterfall splattered red into everyone’s eyes. A head suddenly fell, rolling while stained with still-warm blood until it reached Shen Zhiyi’s feet, a pair of eyes turned upward, their appearance fierce and terrifying!

When everyone came to their senses, Shen Lang’s head and body were already separated.

Some civil officials could no longer bear such a bloody scene and covered their mouths, forcibly suppressing the churning in their stomachs.

Shen Zhiyi’s form stiffened for a moment.

When she lowered her head and saw clearly that face of Shen Lang who died with eyes wide open, her fingers hanging at her sides ultimately still clenched and began to tremble.

She raised her head to look at Xie Wei—

This was what he promised as “leaving a whole corpse”!

At this moment, even the most obtuse person realized something seemed wrong: clearly this wasn’t necessarily a situation requiring a life-and-death struggle—why did Xie Ju’an have to be so cruel and absolute?

Even Jiang Xuening was stunned.

It seemed many things she didn’t know had already occurred in secret.